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Tag: Euro 2020

  • Euro 2020: Sergio Ramos breaks Spain record

    Euro 2020: Sergio Ramos breaks Spain record

    Sergio Ramos became Europe’s most capped male outfield player as Spain edged closer to Euro 2020 qualification with a 1-1 draw in Norway.

    Ramos’ 168th cap also makes him Spain’s record appearance maker, surpassing goalkeeper Iker Casillas.

    Saul Niguez’s dipping second-half effort was cancelled out by Josh King’s injury-time penalty to ruin Spain’s 100% record in Group F.

    A draw in Sweden on Tuesday will secure Spain’s qualification.

    “All that is personal is a little secondary,” said Ramos after the game.

    “I would have happily traded this 168th cap for a victory. It was not the case. But this record is a great reward after so many years and it’s a great source of huge pride.

    “I am emotional every time I put on this shirt. That will not change and I hope to continue doing so for many years.”

    Spain looked to be heading for a seventh straight win in qualification until Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga brought down Omar Elabdellaoui.

    Bournemouth’s King rolled home the spot-kick in the 94th minute to leave Norway in fourth place in Group F.

    Real Madrid’s Ramos, 33, made his Spain debut in 2005 and is one of the last survivors of a golden era that won a World Cup and two European Championships.

    Ramos, who overtook Latvia’s Vitalijs Astafjevs at the summit of Europe’s outfield caps list, is now eight caps from matching Gianluigi Buffon’s overall European record of 176 international appearances.

    The defender has some way to go if he wants to break the world record, however, with former Egypt midfielder Ahmed Hassan playing 184 times for his country between 1995 and 2012.

  • Italy seals Euro 2020 qualification

    Italy seals Euro 2020 qualification

    Italy secured their place at next year’s Euro 2020 finals by beating Greece 2-0 in Rome.

    After a goalless first half, Chelsea midfielder Jorginho opened the scoring from the penalty spot after Andreas Bouchalakis’ handball.

    Substitute Federico Bernardeschi added a late second with a dipping effort from distance.

    The win means Italy top Group J with 21 points, an unassailable 11 points clear of third-placed Armenia.

    Greece needed to win to keep their own qualification hopes alive but they rarely threatened.

    Italy had been booed off at half-time after failing to manage a single shot on target but they were much improved after the break, with Jorginho’s opener visibly relaxing his team-mates.

  • Belgium become first nation to qualify for Euro 2020

    Belgium become first nation to qualify for Euro 2020

    Belgium became the first team to qualify for Euro 2020 as Romelu Lukaku scored twice in a 9-0 thrashing of San Marino.

    Roberto Martinez’ side have an unassailable 11-point lead over third-place Cyprus in Group I.

    Belgium led 6-0 at the break after Lukaku’s brace, two own goals and Nacer Chadli and Youri Tielemans’ strikes.

    Christian Benteke made it 7-0 before Yari Verschaeren scored a penalty and Timothy Castagne wrapped up the win.

    Lukaku’s double takes his international tally to 51 and makes him the first player to score 50 goals for Belgium.

    The Inter Milan striker has six goals in 10 games for club and country this season.

    Meanwhile, Russia look set to join Belgium in progressing from Group I as they strengthened their position in second place with a 4-0 win against Scotland.

  • Racism: England can walk off in Euro 2020 qualifiers

    Racism: England can walk off in Euro 2020 qualifiers

    England could walk off the pitch if they hear racist abuse in the stands during their upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Bulgaria.

    Several incidents of racist abuse have blighted the Premier League this season while Monday’s match with Bulgaria will be played in a partially closed stadium because of the host fans’ racist behaviour in June.

    Chelsea striker, Tammy Abraham, told reporters that the squad has discussed what to do if there is more racist abuse in the stands.

    “If it happens to one of us, it happens to all of us,’’ the BBC quoted Abraham as saying.

    “Harry Kane, the captain, even said that if we’re not happy if a player is not happy, we all come off the pitch together.’’

    Under UEFA rules, there is a three-step protocol for racist abuse, which can end with a match being abandoned.

    Abraham said England would consider just walking off the pitch, a feeling backed up by team-mate Trent Alexander-Arnold.

    “If it does get extreme we may have to take a different action,’’ he said.

    “It’s a team decision, one that we all need to make.

    “It doesn’t matter if one player is abused or the team, we are one group.

    “Nobody should be made to feel uncomfortable on the pitch.

    “Everyone should be given the chance to play in a fair environment.

    “We are a team. If one person is abused then we all are, we are one big family.’’

  • UEFA to plant 600,000 trees to offset carbon emissions from Euro 2020

    UEFA to plant 600,000 trees to offset carbon emissions from Euro 2020

    European football’s governing body UEFA said it will plant 600,000 trees across 12 countries as part of its commitment to offset carbon emissions from travel to next year’s expanded European Championships.

    UEFA, however, conceded it may have to do more.

    The environmental impact of Euro 2020 will be much greater due to the unique pan-European staging of the event with UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin saying it will “pollute a lot”.

    Instead of hosting matches in one or two countries, as is normal for major tournaments, UEFA is staging the 60th anniversary tournament in 12 countries across the European continent from Dublin, Ireland to Baku in Azerbaijan.

    That format will mean much more travel for fans, officials and players and Ceferin said that while the one-off format meant there was no need for major stadium construction, there was clearly an environmental price to pay.

    The Slovenian said UEFA had teamed up with carbon offset specialists South Pole to offset the estimated 405,000 tonnes of carbon produced by supporters and UEFA staff traveling to games in the tournament.

    But he added that the soccer body now needed to focus on making a bigger contribution on green issues.

    “We probably will have to do more. Not just us officials but the fans will travel a lot. We will pollute a lot because of that. We will think about it,” he told a news conference after UEFA’s executive committee met in the Slovenian capital.

    “We are thinking about doing more for the environment anyway, we have a children’s foundation and do a lot for children around the world… but we didn’t do much about the environment,” said Ceferin, who has been UEFA chief since 2016.

    “We start to think about it now because you can’t protect children if there is no environment for them to live in.”

    UEFA will plant 50,000 trees in each of the 12 host countries for the Euro 2020 tournament which will conclude with the semi-finals and final at Wembley Stadium in London.

    The decision to hold a pan-European tournament was taken before Ceferin came to power at UEFA and he said it was unlikely to be repeated.

    “Not just because of the environmental reasons but also it is very challenging for us to organise an event like that.

    “We have different legislation, we have (a) visa and non-visa system, we have European Union and non-European Union, we have Brexit which we don’t know if (the UK) is non-European Union or not,” he said.

    “It is quite challenging and I don’t think we should organise such a big event.

    “It is symbolically very nice, pan-European, East, West, North, South, it is the 60th anniversary but to do it every time I would say it is too challenging.”

  • Euro 2020: Azerbaijan stun World Cup finalists Croatia

    Euro 2020: Azerbaijan stun World Cup finalists Croatia

    Azerbaijan claimed their first point of the Euro 2020 qualifiers with a hugely surprising home draw against World Cup finalists Croatia in Group E.

    The Azeris had lost all four games so far but Tamkin Khalilzade’s stunning solo goal gave them a famous result.

    Dejan Lovren, Ivan Perisic and Marcelo Brozovic all started for Croatia and they led through Luka Modric’s penalty.

    The result is a significant one for Wales as they are four points behind leaders Croatia with a game in hand.

  • Euro 2020: Netherlands shock Germany in topsy-turvy 4-2 win

    Euro 2020: Netherlands shock Germany in topsy-turvy 4-2 win

    Netherlands scored four times in 32 second-half minutes to stage a 4-2 comeback win against hosts Germany in their Euro 2020 Group C qualifier on Friday.

    The Germans went ahead with Serge Gnabry, netting his fourth goal in four qualifiers in the ninth minute.

    The Dutch came back stronger after the break, scoring twice in seven minutes with Frenkie De Jong in the 59th and a Jonathan Tah own goal.

    Germany levelled with a harshly-awarded 73rd minute Toni Kroos penalty but the visitors got revenge for their 3-2 loss in Amsterdam in March.

    They struck through Donyell Malen in the 79th after a quick combination left the German defence frozen.

    Georginio Wijnaldum completed the win in stoppage time.

    The result leaves Germany on nine points from four games, three behind leaders Northern Ireland, who they face on Monday in Belfast.

    The Dutch move up to six points from three games.

    Belarus earned a stoppage-time 2-1 win at Estonia to claim their first points in the other game in the group on Friday.

  • Injured Hazard brothers out of Belgium’s Euro 2020 qualifiers

    Injured Hazard brothers out of Belgium’s Euro 2020 qualifiers

    Eden Hazard and his brother Thorgan will miss Belgium’s Euro 2020 qualifiers against San Marino and Scotland through injuries, the Belgian football association said on Wednesday.

    The pair reported to the team camp in Tubize on Tuesday for medical checks which confirmed Eden is suffering from a muscle strain while his younger brother has a rib injury.

    Eden has yet to make his league debut for Real Madrid since his move to Chelsea because of the injury.

    No replacements have been named by coach Roberto Martinez.

    Belgium, who have won their opening four qualifiers in Group I, play in San Marino on Friday and then Scotland at Hampden Park on Monday.

  • 19m ticket requests for Euro 2020 games, says UEFA

    19m ticket requests for Euro 2020 games, says UEFA

    UEFA has received 19.3 million ticket requests for Euro 2020 matches in the first phase of ticket sales, the European governing body said on Monday.
    UEFA said that 1.9 million requests alone were placed for the July 12, 2020, final at London’s Wembley Stadium, 22 times the stadium capacity.
    Tickets for the London semi-finals and group matches in Munich and Amsterdam were also in high demand.
    The 19.3 million requests by far exceed the 11 million from the same phase at Euro 2016 in France.
    UEFA said that requests came from 213 countries.
    In all, three million tickets are up for sale for next year’s tournament with 24 teams and 51 games in 12 countries.
    UEFA will distribute 1.5 million tickets by lot before the end of the month from the first phase which ended on July 12.
    In the next phase in December after the group draw fans can request tickets via the participating national federations.

  • Wales lose Euro 2020 qualifier in Croatia

    Wales lose Euro 2020 qualifier in Croatia

    Wales paid the price for some poor defending in Croatia as they suffered the first defeat of their Group E Euro 2020 qualifying campaign.

    Croatia took an early lead when Jamie Lawrence turned Ivan Perisic’s driven cross into his own net.

    The World Cup finalists made it 2-0 after the break when Wales failed to clear and Perisic smashed home.

    Substitute David Brooks pulled a goal back with 13 minutes to go but Wales could not force an equaliser.